For some reason the theme of motherhood
is also avoided, for there is not one instance
among all the paintings of a woman either
holding or in company with a child. I do not
know whether mothers with children were
considered unimportant or whether there
was some magico-religious reason against
portraying them.
MONG THE HUMAN FIGURES
there is incredible variety. Some are
tall, some short, some have enormous
fuzzy headdresses, while on other
figures there is no suggestion of hair. Some
figures appear to be naked, some wear
bracelets or knee and ankle ornaments,
some have long tails, others wear skirts, and
still others are enveloped in cloaks.
In fact the human figures are painted in so
many different styles that it is impossible to
classify them. One type, however, stands
out from the rest in the frequency of its ap
pearance at various sites. Louis and I named
this the "Kolo type" for the spot where we
first observed it. Kolo figures are invariably
tall and thin, with headdresses or hairstyles
that are very large and that sometimes in
clude stylized plumes (pages 94-5). Kolo
hands usually have only three fingers, with
the middle one much longer than the other
two. In addition, Kolo figures are often
shown with thin, lionlike tails and with feet
that seem to have either very long toes or
something resembling high heels.
Music and dancing are frequent themes,
and one of my favorite figures is that of a
very elegant flute or pipe player whose mu
sic appears in the form of dotted lines drip
ping from the end of the pipe (page 89).
One painting suggests that Stone Age man
may have been acquainted with alcohol,
UG-OF-WAR for a female appears
on a Kolo wall. The female,
identified in this rarecase by
breasts, apparently belongs to the males
at left, for herfeet are bracedagainst
the pair at right. Sexual overtones are
apparentin the penis of the figure
wearing the doglike mask or headdress.
In an unrelated scene, right, an
antelope butts a shield or panel. The
authorbelieves this may depict the
early use of a hunting blind.